Plastic container for plants



/IJnited States Patent Ofitice 3,306,518 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 3,306,518 PLASTIC CONTAINER FOR PLANTS Thomas K. Connellan, 20484 E. River Road, Grosse Ile, Mich. 48138 Filed June 30, 1965, Ser. No. 468,442 11 Claims. (Cl. 229-37) This invention relates to a container for plants and more particularly for the type of plants which are grown in commercial hot houses for sale or subsequent transplanting.

In these hot houses or greenhouses, as they are sometimes called, these plants are generally arranged on a shelf where the seedlings can be sprinkled simultaneously. Very frequently, this sprinkling is done with fertilized water so that it is important that as much of the water as possible reaches the soil or humus in which the seedlings are planted, thus'avoiding waste of the fertilizer.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive container which is so shaped that it can present a generally solid surface with very little interstitial space between the containers as they are arranged on the shelf. It is also desirable when these containers are so arranged on a shelf that there be some air space between them to permit some ventilation and drying so that mildew and excessive dampness on the shelf are avoided.

All of these objects are accomplished by the present invention which briefly consists of a container of flexible material so shaped that it has a relatively square bottom and a relatively square contour at the top, the walls being slightly angled upwardly and disposed in such a way that When the bottoms of the containers are arranged corner-to-corner along the shelf in adjacent relationship, the tops of the containers are all square configurations which lie adjacent each other in side-by-side arrangement, thus presenting a relatively solid uninterrupted surface at the top.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a relatively simple container which can be so made that it can be sold with the potted plant or disposed of without great loss.

Other objects and features of the invention relating to details of construction and operation will be apparent in the following description and claims.

Drawings accompany the disclosure and the various views thereof may be briefly described as:

FIGURE 1, a perspective view of the container taken at an angle from the top.

FIGURE 2, a view of the layout of the blank from which the container is formed.

FIGURE 3, a view from the top of a plurality of containers arranged in side-by-side relationship.

FIGURE 4, a view from the side showing the manner in which the containers relate to each other in banked form.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the blank 20 shown in FIGURE 2 is composed of four segments, A, B, C, and D, each segment having the sides angled to each other slightly so that the top line 22 of the blank is slightly curved. At the end of segment D is a fastening tab 24 and on the bottom of each segment are tabs 26, 28, 30 and 32. Here again, the lower line 34 of the blank extending along the bottoms of these last-mentioned tabs is slightly curved. The tabs 26, 28, 30 and 32 have a dimension E which is slightly smaller than the length F -of the tab so that when the blank is formed as shown in FIGURE 1, the various. tabs will overlie each other at the ends to a degree to form a crossed bottom. Also, the top of each segment A, B, C, and D is of greater dimension at G than the bottom dimension H.

When the blank is formed of relatively flexible material, such as a rather thin plastic material, the formation of the blank 20 into the container 40 shown in FIGURE 1 is accomplished by a stapling, stitching or adhering the flap 24 to the right-hand each of segment A and by overlapping the tabs 26, 28, 30 and 32 as shown in the bottom of the container. Bottom flaps can also be either adhered by a suitable adhesive or heat sealing or by staples 42 or by other stitching which is known in the trade.

A strange and unexpected configuration results from this assembly of the blank. The top of the container assumes a relatively square shape with slightly rounded corners and each side of the square edge at the top is disposed at 45 to the sides of the bottom edge of the container.

For example, in FIGURE 3, the side 44 of the top edge is at 45 to the side 46 and the side 48 of the bottom edge and similarly around the container. Thus, when the containers are disposed in a banked relationship as shown in FIGURE 3 the top edges of the containers lie in contiguous and parallel relationship while the bottom corners of the containers shown at 50 and 52, for example, are directly adjacent each other. The nature of the container is also such that the center of side 44 of the top edge, for example, is directly above the corner 54 whereas a corner of the top portion at 56 tapers outwardly from the side 58 of the bottom edge. This results in a pyramidal type of space between the containers when stacked as shown in FIGURE 3 and at the top in a small opening 60, this space being indicated at 62 in FIGURE 4 where the containers 40' are shown banked on a shelf 64. It may be noted that the sides of the top square edge are sufiiciently longer than the sides of the bottom square edge that the bottom corners, such as 56, lie wholly within the boundary defined by the top square edge; i.e., the bottom corners do not project outward beyond the top of the container.

The result is a plurality of containers which can be banked together on a greenhouse shelf to provide a relatively solid top which will receive sprinkling water with very little loss while the bottoms of the containers are arranged in diagonal position to provide air space between the containers and to permit such drainage and ventilation as is necessary. The result is an ideal solution to the problem of ventilation and drainage all being created to the inexpensive container formed as above described.

I claim:

1. A container for plants comprising a bottom wall having a boundary edge of square configuration, and an upright side wall closed at the bottom end thereof by said bottom wall and ope-n at the top end thereof, said side wall having a boundary edge at said top end of generally square configuration, the sides of the square edge at said top end extending at angles of 45 relative to each side of the square edge of said bottom wall, and the sides of said top edge being longer than the sides of said bottom edge.

2. The container of claim 1 in which said bottom Wall and said side wall consist of a single piece of flexible material having folds at said boundary edge of said bottom wall.

3. The container of claim 2 in which said flexible material is a plastic.

4. The container of claim 2 in which said bottom wall consists of four tabs joining said side wall at said bottom boundary edge, said tabs overlapping each other in a manner to make said bottom wall solid.

5. The container of claim 4 in which said side wall consists of four segments each having a fold at said top end thereof forming a corner of said top edge.

6. The container of claim 5 in which one of said segments has a tab overlapping and secured to another of said segments.

7. The container of claim 6 having means securing the tabs of said bottom wall together.

8. A container for plants having a side wall and a bottom wall closing said side wall at one end thereof, said container having one square edge at the top of said side wall and another square edge at the bottom of said side wall, and said container being characterized by a relationship between said square edges wherein the sides of said top square edge extend at angles of 45 relative to the sides of said bottom square edge.

9. The container of claim 8 wherein the sides of said top square edge are longer than the sides of said bottom square edge.

10. The container of claim 9 wherein the corners of said bottom square edge lie within the boundary of said top square edge such that said bottom corners do not extend outward farther than the top of said container.

11. A container for plants having a sidewall and a bottom wall at one end thereof, said container having one square edge at the top of said side wall and another square edge at the bottom of said side wall and consisting of a single piece of relatively flexible material having folds at said bototm square edge, said container being characterized by a relationship between said square edges wherein the sides of said top square edge extend at angles of 45 relative to the sides of said bottom square edge and wherein the sides of said top square edge are sufficiently longer than the sides of said bottom square edge that the corners of said bottom Wall lie within a boundary defined by said top square edge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,841,319 7/1958 White et a1. 22937 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

20 R. PESCHOCK, Assistant Examiner. 

8. A CONTAINER FOR PLANTS HAVING A SIDE WALL AND A BOTTOM WALL CLOSING SAID SIDE WALL AT ONE END THEREOF, SAID CONTAINER HAVING ONE SQUARE EDGE AT THE TOP OF SAID SIDE WALL AND ANOTHER SQUARE EDGE AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID SIDE WALL, AND SAID CONTAINER BEING CHARACTERIZED BY A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAID SQUARE EDGES WHEREIN THE SIDES OF SAID TOP SQUARE EDGE EXTEND AT ANGLES OF 45* RELATIVE TO THE SIDES OF SAID BOTTOM SQUARE EDGE. 